Welcome to the Peaceful Power Podcast I’m Andrea Claassen the host of the show. Today we are talking about dosha’s.
Download your Learning Your Dosha Guide
This is the 2nd practice of my Peaceful Power Practice series. If you listened a few weeks ago to Sahara Rose’s interview you most likely have a better understanding of what your dosha might be and how it applies to your life. If you haven’t listened to that interview I highly recommend going back and check out episode #76.
Today I’m going to do an overview of each of the doshas and teach you how they apply to your life both in nutrition, fitness & emotionally. First a review there are 3 dosha types- vata, pitta & kapha. We each have a primary dosha and a secondary dosha. Very few of us are tri-doshic meaning we are all three equally. To find your dosha check out Sahara’s quiz on eatfeelfresh.com it is by far the best dosha quiz I’ve ever seen. It gives you your primary dosha for your mind as well as your primary dosha for your body.
Vata Characteristics
Associated with movement
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Positive Qualities Downside qualities
*Positive Emotions *Lack of confidence /grounding
*Brightness *Lack of ease
*Fast Metabolism *Lack of direction
*Driven *Worry, overwhelm, stress & anxiety
Digestion
- Vatas tend to eat erratically & skip meals
- Vatas tend to bloat
- Feel malnourished/always hungry
- Vatas tend towards dehydration & constipation
- In Fall/early winter choose foods that have warmth & moisturize the body
- One pot meals good for digestion
- Spices- cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, black pepper, cumin, basil, & mustard seeds pacify vata
- Favor- Marinated salads, Fermented foods, 1 pot meals
Tendencies
- Sleep issues
- Feeling of exhaustion
- Cracking Joints
Remedies
- Thrive on routine
- Nourish the body 3x a day at the same time creates grounding in body & mental direction.
- Need more nuts, seeds, oils to balance the lightness of body & more spices due to cold nature of their system
- In general food should be taken warm, oily, spiced
- Daily hot baths or external oil massage help them feel nourished in the depth of their soul.
- Early to bed
- Yoga practice focus on breath work to ground down
How to find if vata is off?
Look into routines- What is unstable in your life? Ex.-Bedtime inconsistent, meditation practice inconsistent, sporadic meals
Workouts
- Light cardio & yoga over high intensity activities
General Practices
- Dress in layers- vatas tend to get cold
- 5 Minutes of sitting in quiet in morning & evening
- Eat on a schedule
- Routines, routines, routines
- Favor warming spices to aid in digestion & keep you warm all day long
Pitta Characteristics
Associated with transformation
Positive Qualities Downside Qualities
*Put their mind to something they will do it *Quick to anger
*Strong appetite & digestion *Quick to criticize
*Puts on muscle easily *Can get hangry
*Crave transformation *Sometimes overly competitive
Digestion
- Pittas have strong digestion that leans towards sharpness & acidity
- The sharpness happens when they skip meals- hangry
- Pittas don’t skip lunch or you will burn out later that day
- Foods to be careful around- hot spices, meat, alcohol, caffeine, chocolate & processed foods easily aggravates fire types.
- Spices- Cilantro, basil, mint, lemon balm, rose, lemongrass, coconut, dill, fennel, cardamom, coriander instead of pepper
- Favor- Diet freshly prepared foods & cooling foods
- Sweet tastes to chill out your edge- Honey is too hot. Use maple syrup or dates for sweet taste
Tendencies
- Burnout
- Sharpness in tongue
- Need to make time to relax & reflect
Remedies
- Daily nature walks to give you space & perspective
- Lunch should be the new dinner
- Beans are cooling and good for pittas digestion
- In general spicy foods will aggravate pittas
- Reflection & gratitude practice at the end of the day to keep your pitta calm
- Plants & greens in particular are go to meal options
How to find if pitta is off?
What are you overly focused on in your life? Typically pitta goes into overdrive when you work to hard on a goal, job, kids, life in general. Need to ease up and relax this is where the nature walks or getting outside helps balance the sharpness of the pitta.
Other reasons pitta can be off- Too much spicy food, alcohol, staying up past 10pm to finish work which increases focus, starting the day with coffee = more acid in body which turns into sore throats burning esophagus.
Workouts
- Medium intensity based workouts, creative workouts/play, walks, typically love competitive sports
General Practices
- Flow & let go
- Avoid burnout
- Eat a large lunch
- Avoid processed foods they affect pittas the most
- Watch the spice & alcohol to avoid pitta flare-ups
- Relaxing evening practice at end of day to shut down work
Kapha Characteristics
Positive Qualities Downside qualities
*Means hug (bring together) *Suffocation to close to people
*Grounded *Can get complacent
*Safety *Out of balance can mean lower motivation
*Go with the flow personality *Slower metabolism
Digestion
- Kaphas do best with drying diets- spicy, crunchy foods & a predominance of green vegetables
- Tendency to overeat which causes the stomach lining to become more liquid which contributes to overproduction of mucus = colds, congestion, asthma, water retention
- 2-3 meals a day are best for kaphas
- Best foods- Astringent grains such as millet, buckwheat, pomegranates, leafy greens, lemons & grapefruit
- Spices- Fennel, pepper, cloves, cinnamon, go big with spices
- Lemon & honey are your pals
Tendencies
- Body at rest stays at rest
- Heaviness feeling
- Designed to give
Remedies
- Declutter- kaphas tend to collect things
- Stimulate the senses daily- explore new places, sights, sounds, colors, etc.
- Get to bed early 6-8 hours of sleep ideal for kaphas not 10 as you might think
- Chew on fennel- instead of snacking sip hot water & toasted fennel seeds
- Digest your meals before ingesting your next meal
- Decongest- neti pot
How to find if kapha is off?
Typically habits are off. Not as lively they get out of their exercise, nutrition routines, need lighter foods, sat to long recently.
Workouts
- High intensity, group environment more inviting, compound exercises, morning movement to start the day essential for kaphas
General Practices
- Dry brush every day – helps with circulation
- Wake up & move- 10 minutes is good, 20 minutes great
- 1/3 food, 1/3 water, 1/3 space when eating to see room for digestion
- Spice is your friend as are honey & lemon
- Go to bed early & get up at dawn for movement practice
- Move, move, move
In Conclusion
We will associate with something from each of the dosha. Your primary dosha will be the one that you relate to the most. Typically we have one that we will really gravitate towards. Next time you’re feeling angry notice why and what could be the cause of it. If you’re feeling a little all over mentally what might be the cause, or if you feel sluggish notice what dosha might be out of balance. The more we practice these things the more they will become second nature to finding that balance in our lives.
Favorite Ayurveda Resources
- Sahara Rose- eatfeelfresh.com
- Cate Stillman- http://yogahealer.com/ and her book Body Thrive
- Katie Silcox- Healthy, Happy, Sexy – A modern Woman’s guide to Ayurveda
Weekly Challenge
Find your dosha this week
Download your Dosha Guidebook
Where to connect with Andrea
- Instagram- @andreaclaassen21
- Facebook- @andreaclaassen21
- Website- andreaclaassen.com
- Facebook Group- facebook.com/groups/peacefulpower
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